Thursday 22nd January, 2026
Natural Resources Wales has today published the first country-level assessment of Welsh terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.
Covering the period 2019-2024 and produced under Regulation 9A of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the assessment gives us a much better understanding of the poor condition of Wales’s natural environment, including its rivers.
The regulator must be congratulated for producing what is a clear, concise, well-written and well-presented report.
More bad news for rivers
Unsurprisingly, the assessment is extremely concerning for Wales’s freshwater habitats and species. And for fish in particular, this report gives no relief from the already depressing assessments made for Wales’s salmon and sewin populations.
Of the nine fish species populations assessed (sea, river, brook lamprey; allis and twaite shad; Atlantic salmon; grayling, whitefish [Gwyniad] and bullhead), all were in unfavourable condition with three classified as “bad”.
Other aquatic species fared no better. Freshwater pearl mussels and whiteclawed crayfish were classified as unfavourable/bad and floating water plantain as unfavourable/inadequate.
The only freshwater species assessed to be classified as favourable were otters and common frogs.
And of the six freshwater habitats assessed, four were unfavourable/bad and one unfavourable/inadequate. Just one was found to be in good status.
Pressures on freshwater species and habitats
In addition to condition, the assessment also looked into pressures on these species and habitats. And it was notable which sector was the most prominent in this regard.
Agriculture was found to be the most commonly reported pressure for species. For both high and medium-ranked pressures, agricultural practices affected 44 of the 53 species assessed.
Specifically for fish, agriculture was a high-ranked pressure for six out of the nine species.
Forestry and climate change were also major pressures, affecting 29 and 26 species respectively when high and medium-ranked pressures were combined.
Agriculture-related practices were also a major pressure on habitats. They impacted 52 of the 61 habitats assessed when high and medium-ranked pressures were combined. High-ranked agricultural pressures affected five of the six freshwater habitats assessed.
Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) were one of the fish species classified as unfavourable/inadequte. Natural Resources Wales have, however, deemed populations in Wales (Dee, Severn and Wye) to be stable.
Are measures to resolve agricultural impacts on rivers working?
While agriculture was identified as a major pressure, the sector also accounted for the largest number of conservation measures for both species and habitats.
This begs a question: are the measures implemented to resolve the impacts of the farming sector to Welsh freshwater habitats effective? And are the legal requirements to ensure protection of SAC’s being met? The evidence from this assessment would suggest not.
Overall conservation status of non-bird species in Wales not including marine species (2019-2024 reporting). Source: NRW
Overall conservation status of species in Wales split by species group, not including marine species (2019-2024 reporting). Source: NRW
Seventh River Summit
With the seventh Welsh Government River Summit being held today, the report is a timely reminder to Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales of the need to tackle what is for most rivers in Wales, the sector with the biggest adverse impact.
There are initiatives underway. The control of agricultural pollution regulations are being improved and the regulator has sharpened its enforcement. The Sustainable Farming Scheme comes into operation this year (although there are doubts as to how much impact this will have on water pollution), new legislation is being introduced to set water pollution targets and a new water regulator for Wales is coming.
Will this be enough to improve the situation for Wales’s species and habitats? The proof will, of course, be in the pudding and whether favourable status can be achieved in time for the next assessment. Another important factor will be whether the agricultural sector’s relative share of the pressures on species and habitats reduces from the concerning levels identified in this report.